Posted on 10/08/2009 9:35:31 AM PDT by Lloyd Marcus
A reporter tried to pull me into it, “What do you think about this tea party organization not liking that tea party organization?” I said disagreements are inevitable because human beings are involved. Everyone has their opinion regarding the best direction of the movement.
Back in the beginning after the April 15th round of tea parties, a patriot emailed me frustrated over the direction of his local group. They wanted to focus on national issues. He believed they should start with local politics. While I agree “all politics are local”, this grassroots movement was founded and is fueled by passion. Things work best when each patriot simply follows their own passion. If fighting to restore America on the national level hits your hot button, go for it! If local floats your boat, you are a perfect candidate for School Board. Our movement needs patriots on both fronts. 
God gives us “grace” individually to achieve His purpose for our lives. Thus, someone may ask your help and support for a worthy cause. You write them a check, but have no real passion to join their cause. When God gives you grace for a cause, you commit to it wholeheartedly.
The beauty of the Tea Party movement is that it has no one personality or group leading the charge. The movement is concerned American patriots driven by their instincts, awareness and love for their country; all following their passion and using their skills to help out in whatever way they can to restore America. It is republicans, democrats, independents and Obama voters all saying, “Wait a minute, this is not the change we wanted or voted for. Enough!”
So yes, there is going to be in-fighting and differences of opinions on the best direction of the Tea Party Movement. The movement itself will decide which way it will go. The bottom line is millions of Americans agree that the Obama administration is aggressively pushing Americans and taking our country down the wrong road. Despite our differences, we patriots are united in our commitment to restore our Freedoms, Liberty and Culture.
Lloyd Marcus, Black Unhyphenated American!
“Twenty Ten” video, Take Back America!
Wonder who the "this" and "that" organizations are that don't like each other.
They probably don't exist.
It’s the MEDIA trying to start a fight.....they’re good at that.
There is NO “Family Feud” in out local “Tea Party” movement(Omaha) I am alllied w/ the 9/12 ers, The local Pariot org, and others.
I tend to be less worried about differences because I have a strong suspicion and some evidence that leftist ringers are posing at some tea parties to suggest more disarray than there actually is, and, surprise the MSM reporters seem to always be able to find it.
Lloyd, does this involve the group pushing for a constitutionl convention?
Nice essay.
The left sure seems discombobulated by the actions of the right. Could it be that they have no ideas of their own so they have to project their misgivings onto their enemies? There doesn’t seem to be a single one of them interested or willing to debate their agenda - instead they resort to FUD-mongering and the politics of personal destruction upon anyone who dares oppose them.
Actually, US Navy Vet, there may not be anything locally that you can see, but there is one.
Trust me, I know. I organized the first Omaha party in February, then gave the reigns over to Dawn and the 912 Project because I was tired of dealing with it.
Nationally, there was a big fight between two major groups after the April 15th. They still work semi together, but have different agendas they are working from. Nationally, the 912 project has become the third organization and is frowned upon by the other two groups.
Unfortunately, it goes with the territory. We are, by nature of the protests, independent thinkers. There is always going to be disagreements on direction. We are not mindless drones like the Progressives, where true astroturfing can be kept in control via George Soros’s groups like MoveOn.
Who are the “two major groups”?
Good post. We need to be prepared for the media and the leftists to infiltrate and cause division too. They would love to see a third party develop from the whole Tea Party movement more than anything else because it would destroy any and all chances of conservatives winning in 2010 and 2012. Forewarned is forearmed.
However, all of the Tea Party groups share a common cause. All should have a common symbol to demonstrate that general agreement to all who see it. I suggest the Gadsden Flag.
See my post yesterday on "Don't Tread on Me."
John / Billybob
Like you, I am allied w/different groups but I will say, that there is some difficulty in getting people to leave their egos ‘at the door’ so to speak. Differences do come out which is not a problem, but I’ve found that some are going into it with an attitude of ‘see what I’m doing’ ‘aren’t I great’? And will trample all over any discourse at each and every turn. Usually I remain fairly quiet until my issues come up (2nd & 10th amendments)though.
There is always disagreement within groups. When we organized the first Tea Party in Arlington, TX, we threw it together and it worked. The meetings that followed had power struggles and what seemed like an attempt at co-opting the group by GOP insiders. I left that group to join the 912 group, which is well organized and active.
Having said that, I know that these guys have butted heads with the Ft. Worth group, but we still come together when it counts. We also share intelligence and ideas with the Dallas group and others.
There is a common cause and it is working.
Agree Lloyd, but I would go one step further and say that it is more than Obama (opposition to his socialist policies) that unite us; it is our disgust at the last 20 years of Federal Government usurpation of powers, and liberty which they are not constitutionally granted! It goes beyond Obama, and even George Bush..
This is a mass movement!
By the way it was good to meet you in Bloomington, IN on your tour of the Tea Party Express: God Bless!
here are tea partiers from all over the country, getting along in agreement.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdzspfkujHQ
teeman
So the TP movement is now 3 groups? I predict it will soon be 5.
This is what happens when there is no central leadership, vision or goals. Inevitably there will be those who believe THEIR way is the right way, and let’s admit that describes about 50% of conservatives, and without a counterweight or consequences they will calve off another part of your membership in a move having more to do with vanity than victory. Then once you have 5 “leaders” the political posturing, infighting and cannablism will start and then there’s no turning back from ruin.
I never did get this concept of the TP’s that they movement had to be “leaderless”. Maybe it made sense because it doesn’t proved a target for the opposition but it is suicide for long term health and success.
Conservatives love to think of themselves as “rugged inndividualists” and that’s a romantic notion as long as you stay an individual, but for a large movement to maintain substained health, growth and effectiveness their has to be vision and that needs to come from if not one individual then a small group of dedicated visionaries.
The group needs, if it’s not late already, to develop a convention type membership of representatives from all the groups who then vote on a group of leaders (the best way to describe it is a Board of Directors) who then elect their CEO as well as VP’s who can then be responsible for day to day needs like operations, marketing/PR, funding, etc.
Now I know I’m going to be jumped on by those, and there are many of them, who want to live and die by the “rugged individualistt” credo, but IMHO those are the people that will eventaully kill this movement due to their narrow vision and short term thinking. They are the “cats” in the “herding cats” scenario. They’re not evil, just misguided.
The fact is the system the TP has created doesn’t prevent “leaders”, it only allows dozens of more self appointed leaders to rise to the top of the bowl, all vying to be big cheese and have the last word and who may end up destroying the whole enchilada in the process.
I’ll say it again, for the movement to have long term effectiveness is needs to have a counter weight to the dozens of Jim Jones types who are inevitably going to
challenge the status qou and be willing to destroy it, you know, to save it.
Being a conservative is like being in the movie “Groundhog Day”.
TP members need to do what any committed American should do...infiltrate their local Republican party...get elected...make a difference! (It IS happening.)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.